"I'll talk to you later." She hung up, and I pulled the phone away, staring at it in mute shock.
After a beat of silence, Spencer turned to Ara. "Way to undo all my hard work."
Chapter twenty-nine
Gemma
Rule #29: Keep holiday decor reasonable.
Ruth and Cal's house came into view from where it had been built into the side of a pine-dotted mountain hill. Even in the darkness, I could see that it was a beautiful house that looked like a fancy treehouse with wrap-around porches built around trees, construction that followed the flow of the hill downward, and lots of timber and iron to give it a rustic feel. I could see how it had appealed to Cal first with its masculine energy, but I knew for a fact that Ruth had added a softness and charm to it. As I headed up the many stairs that led to the elevated walkway, I noted the potted plants and flowers that, although dying now, were a testament to Ruth's presence.
I'd tried to call ahead, but Ruth wasn't answering her phone, and honestly, I was too drained to bother doing much ofanything but drag myself from the cafe I'd parked my butt at a couple hours ago and then to Ruth's house. And Knox had only confirmed what I'd feared.
I knew, in my heart, he hadn't meant to hurt me, but he hadn't trusted me with the truth either. And thathurt. I didn't want to be seen as someone lesser than. I didn't want to be used as a tool in a plan I had no hand in making. I didn't want to be a cog in the machine that allowed him to get revenge on his mother, however well deserved. And I didn't think it was so outside the realm of reasonability that those things would make me upset.
But I also hated leaving him. I missed him already, and as I hiked my weekender bag a little higher on my shoulder, I had serious misgivings about what the hell I was going to do about any of this. I couldn't continue living with Knox after all that. I sure as hell wasn't going to "pretend" that I was marrying Knox when everyone involved knew it was a pointless sham.
I had been stupid for not seeing it sooner, really.
I reached the front door, and the solar lanterns along the walkway posts illuminated a fall wreath on the door and a bunch of pumpkins off to the right. I smiled, knowing that Ruth had to have brought up pumpkin picking with Cal, and no doubt he'd jumped at the chance to go with her. They were disgustingly cute, those two. I went to knock on the door but found it slightly ajar.
Nervous suddenly, I pushed open the door and peeked inside. Had something gone wrong? Wasn't this usually some kind of indication that there had been a burglary or a murder? My voice stuck in my throat, and I eased the door open, tiptoeing into a dark foyer. Blue light mingled with the warm glow of the lantern light behind me, and I tread soundlessly into the house, my heart kicking up an erratic rhythm in my chest.
"Ruth?" I whispered. Why was I whispering? Maybe they weren't home and had forgotten to lock the front door.
But that wasn't like Ruth at all. She'd never forget that. Genuinely nervous now, I crept from the foyer to where a set of stairs led down to the living room, which was bathed in shadows and muted light from the outdoor lanterns set up around the deck out back. A shuffle from the hallway leading to the bedrooms caught my attention, and I froze in place, clutching my coat and trying to find my voice again. Something was off here.
A light flared from the hallway, and I jumped. "H-hello?" I squeaked. The light briefly illuminated something liquid on the floor, and as I bent down to get a closer look, I released a strangled gasp. Blood. It was a puddle of blood, and in long, laborious streaks, it continued along the floor and to the hallway at the back like someone had dragged a dying body across the polished wood.
Breathing hard and fast, I pulled out my cell phone with shaking hands, fumbling with it, and failing to correctly bring up my lock screen. Suddenly, a scream filled the house, ringing in my ears and squeezing my heart with so much fear, I thought for sure I would pass out like a fainting goat. Thundering footsteps pounded down the hallway and into the living room, and like I wasn't in control of my body anymore, I screamed, backing away and stumbling back up the steps until I tripped and sprawled at the top on my ass.
Ruth came streaking out from the hallway, her hands in fuzzy handcuffs and her body completely naked except for the streaks of bright red she had covering her neck, breasts, stomach, and legs. Her scream dissolved into laughter, swallowing my scream, and she bent over, giving into a fit of giggles just as a naked man in a Jason mask came lunging after her. She shrieked again, and it was only in that moment that I realized she wasactually laughing, and the man in the Jason mask wielding a giant knife was laughing with her. He tackled her, taking herdown to the ground with gentle strength, and he pinned her with her handcuffed hands above her head. "Nice try, pretty girl," he growled from behind his mask.
Ruth could barely breathe, she was laughing so hard, and she writhed in mock agony beneath him. "No! Please! Mercy!"
I sagged, releasing a breath of horrified air and practically melting into a puddle of liquified flesh and rattled bones. As "Jason" positioned himself between Ruth's thighs, my brain caught up to what the fuck was actually happening here, and a windstorm of fury replaced the cold fear that had numbed my body and brain. Sitting up, I shouted, "Ruth, what theactual fuck!"
Ruth gasped, picking up her head and looking my way. The naked man in the Jason mask whipped his eyeless face my way, and we all had one immobile moment of shock, and then pandemonium erupted. Ruth screamed, this time in genuine horror, and the man, whom I reasonably assumed was Cal, covered her with his body, but only managed to flash me his fleshy ass in doing so. I clapped a hand over my eyes. "Jesus H. Christ, you two!"
"Oh my God!" Ruth cried, and they both scrambled, running for the couch.
I got up, hand still over my eyes. "Do not bother covering yourselves up, you sex-obsessed degenerates!" I shouted, stumbling back and going to the foyer. "I already saw everything, and no, I willneverrecover."
Cal started to laugh, loud and long, and the clarity of it told me he'd removed his mask. "Gemma," he wheezed. "I'm sorry."
"We're so sorry!" Ruth moaned, and I heard the regret in her voice, but I was already at the door.
I picked up my bag from where it had fallen. "I knew it!" I roared, wrenching open the front door. "I justknewyou two were going to obliterate my retinas with your disgusting—"
"Gem, come back!" Ruth called, but she had already begun to join Cal in his uncontrollable laughter. "You can stay! I'll wear clothing!"
"—nasty sex lives!" I went through the door, my voice echoing as I marched down the walkway. "You two are the worst!"
"We're sorry!" Ruth called, and I shook my head slapping my face with both of my hands. There was no way I was going back there. Not a chance.
I stomped back to my car, hefting my bag and feeling a sudden surge of overwhelming emotion. The despair over my feelings for Rook suddenly mingled with intense, heart-stopping fear about the blood on Ruth’s floor, which had then been rapidly replaced with white-hot fury over the absolute absurdity of this situation. The concoction boiled a storm of conflicting emotions to the surface, and as soon as I got to my car, I dissolved into tears.
Big, fat tears rolled down my cheeks, and I let out a sob, crouching down in front of my car and leaning my forehead against the cool metal door. There really was nothing for it. I let myself cry silently, releasing the torrent of pathos that had built up inside of me and had literally buckled my knees.
